Canada Reveals Plans To Ban Popular Single-Use Plastic Items This Year

This week, the Canadian government officially published the final set of regulations banning the manufacturing and importing of most single-use plastics, with the new law set to take effect from December 2022. 

This ban will extend to single-use plastic products including plastic bags, food containers, ring carriers, stirring sticks, and straws. 

One year after the new rules kick in, the country will move to halt the sale of these items, giving businesses a grace period to transition to the new regulations and deplete existing stock. 

Additionally, the government said it would be prohibiting the export of six categories of plastics by the end of 2025. 

“Over the next decade, this world-leading ban on harmful single-use plastics will result in the estimated elimination of over 1.3 million tonnes of hard-to-recycle plastic waste and more than 22,000 tonnes of plastic pollution,” the government said in a press release.

“These new regulations mark a turning point for Canada. We are taking strong action to protect the environment, creating cleaner and healthier communities across the country.” 

[via Reuters and Environment and Climate Change Canada / PR Newswire, cover image via Chernetskaya | Dreamstime.com]